Review: The brooding Hrithik is back in ‘Agneepath’

Zeenews Bureau Very early in his career, Hrithik Roshan had played some intense and brooding characters in movies like ‘Fiza’ and ‘Mission Kashmir’. Although the films were major Box Office failures, Hrithik the actor, was appreciated for taking up such roles so early in his acting career. The actor became a star and slowly got engulfed in glitzy glamorous roles. After almost a decade, Hrithik comes back in the same brooding avatar in this week’s new release, ‘Agneepath’. And oh boy, he is fantastic! The film, which is a remake of a cult classic starring Big B, has the same story line more or less but director Karan Malhotra introduces some new characters like Rauf Lala(played brilliantly by Rishi Kapoor) and minuses some old ones. Set in a village called Mandwa, the story soon moves to Mumbai where Vijay Dinannath Chauhan (Hrithik Roshan) works for Rauf Lala and becomes an important member of his gang. Vijay’s only motive in life is to seek revenge of his father’s death from Kancha (Sanjay Dutt) and reclaim the respect of his native place, which is now Kancha’s kingdom. When you are making a cult classic, comparisons are inevitable. But Karan Malhotra plays it safe and changes the story to a certain extend to make it a contemporary fresh film. The treatment given to the film is that of a typical masala potboiler which is high on drama, action and emotions. So you have a mother giving birth to a child in the middle of the road, the hero’s sister being assaulted by the villain and hero himself giving long dramatic dialogues in the climax scene. Sounds familiar? Well, let just say that it is flashback 80s hindi cinema. While Hrithik takes the film firmly on his shoulder, he is supported by the film’s main baddie, Sanjay Dutt as Kancha. Sanjay gives Kancha a whole new character with his bald and almost ugly look and menacing behaviour. Dutt proves that given a good strong character, he can prove his acting prowess. Surprise package of film is definitely Rishi Kapoor. Kapoor who has always been known for his chocolate boy romantic image, takes a three sixty degree turn in this film as Rauf Lala. He is clever, conniving and very convincing. Priyanka Chopra as Kaali, Hrithik’s love interest, has a small role and unfortunately doesn’t have much to do. Hrithik, on the other hand, gives a very humane touch to Vijay’s character who is quiet and sensitive. Big B as Vijay had lot more punch lines and aggression which Roshan lacks. The film is shot brilliantly and the village scenes are particularly good. Music by Ajay-Atul is enjoyable and is already at the top of all the music charts. But the film could have been edited as the first half drags and the pace only increases in the second half when Vijay meets his enemy, Kancha. The film is not the best remake. We have seen better remakes. But ‘Agneepath’ as a film doesn’t fail to entertain. It has its moments and when you have Katrina gyrating to ‘Chikni Chameli’, how can the film be dull! If you have gotten tired of urbane, realistic films that have been coming out off late and missing the typical commercial potboilers, ‘Agneepath’ is your answer. Ratings: Three cheers for this one!